


Ride the Wave, Together

by Annide



Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Recovery, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-23 04:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30049926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annide/pseuds/Annide
Summary: During one of the 126 hang outs at Carlos' place, TK feels urges come over him.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand, Firehouse 126 Crew & Carlos Reyes (9-1-1 Lone Star), Firehouse 126 Crew (9-1-1 Lone Star) & TK Strand
Comments: 26
Kudos: 319





	Ride the Wave, Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DjDangerLove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DjDangerLove/gifts).



> Warning : This fic depicts addiction urges, focused on alcohol.
> 
> Inspired by [this post](https://djdangerlove.tumblr.com/post/645596612164485120/but-wheres-the-fic-of-the-126-having-a-hang-at)

His eyes kept stopping on the bottles. Such small insignificant objects and yet, they seemed to pull all his focus. He tried to concentrate on a droplet of water running down the side of one instead of its contents. He stared at the trace it left behind. His thoughts were still filled with how much he wanted to drink the beer inside.

It was all TK could see. Bottles of alcohol everywhere. In reality, there weren’t that many, but it felt as though there were because of how hard he tried not to think about it, how hard he tried to ignore the urges he felt inside to find something, anything to make that feeling go away. He wanted to give in to them, to let them pull him right through that rabbit hole. If only to stop feeling so raw and unnerved for a few hours.

He put his hand down firmly over his leg to stop it from bouncing. He opened and closed his hand, over and over again, letting his nail dig ever so slightly in his palm each time, just as something to do, as a distraction, as a sensation to keep him grounded. He could almost feel the burn in his lungs and his throat from being resuscitated, and it helped him remember why he had to stay clean. He threw a look around the room at all these people surrounding him, his coworkers, his team, his friends. He couldn't let them see him fall again. Their disappointed looks would be too much to bear.

It hurt to know how easy it would be to sneak off to the bathroom to drink. It wasn't what he craved, but pills weren't as accessible right now, he wasn’t surrounded by them. Alcohol would be good enough to take the edge off. It was a slippery slope, using an addictive substance to curb the craving for another, but part of him wanted nothing more than just the little bit of relief it could provide. But he couldn't. He'd been so strong this past year, he couldn't throw it all away and start over because the urges were particularly intense tonight. Because the urges were ruining his night, consuming his every thought and making it impossible for him to relax and have fun.

He was grateful for the others’ presence however. It was making it harder to relapse, even if he didn't dare tell them about it. Even if he felt unstable, uneasy and too broken to deserve them. Even if he didn't let himself say anything, or admit he might need help getting through the night for fear of ruining their fun too. For fear of letting them see how irreparable he was.

* * *

Something was off with TK. He was unusually silent, he didn’t seem to be paying much attention to what was going on around him, his leg was bouncing the way it always did when he was nervous, and he kept playing with his necklace, bringing the medallion to his mouth. There was clearly something on his mind, but for now at least he didn’t seem keen on sharing.

At first, Paul thought he was the only one to notice, but as he looked around, it became evident that it wasn’t the case. Carlos kept rubbing the back of his neck, taking a step toward his boyfriend then back, unsure whether he wanted to risk bringing attention to the situation to everyone else.

Marjan kept throwing looks at TK and talking to him about distracting things. Nancy started collecting beer bottles all around the room after she followed his gaze. Mateo replied to Marjan when TK didn’t, but he still tried to bring TK into it. Judd, who’d joined for once, after being teased thoroughly for only hanging out with them when Grace had a shift, handed TK one of Carlos’ throw pillows.

“What...” TK said, coming back to reality as he held the pillow in front of him. He looked around at the way everyone stared at him, at the sudden disappearance of all traces of alcohol, and he let his head fall onto the pillow, hiding his face in what seemed like shame or embarrassment. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t have to do this alone. If you’re feeling urges, you can tell us, we’re here for you,” Paul said.

Carlos sat by TK’s side and rubbed his back until he eventually lifted his head up again. TK met each of their eyes, unflinching in their support for him, showing him that they wouldn’t be scared off. They were here, they loved him and they had no intention of going anywhere.

“I didn’t want to ruin the mood. Everyone was having so much fun.”

“Not everyone, brother,” Judd tapped TK’s knee and left his hand there, “you gotta have fun too, otherwise the night can’t be a success. Now, tell us what you need and we’ll make sure you get it.”

“I just... I need a distraction to keep my mind off the urges until they pass,” TK looked down, uncertain, probably feeling exposed talking about something so personal in front of all of them.

“So, do you want us to leave and let Carlos do that or...?”

“Mateo!” Marjan playfully slapped his shoulder.

“This is exactly why I always choose Grace over you guys. No offense,” Judd turned to TK. “How do you feel about getting crushed at Mario Kart?”

“I feel like Cowboy Judd might be getting ahead of himself.”

They gathered for a quick group hug, then Carlos slipped behind his boyfriend so he could hold him tightly as TK played. Paul got more snacks before he and Marjan settled in their own seats to join the race. Mateo sat on the floor, playing commentator. Nancy took out her phone to put music on.

They could still sense an edge in TK, some kind of unease in him, but the more the night went on, the more relaxed he seemed. He fidgeted less and less with his game controller, talked more and more. Paul hoped that after tonight, TK would feel more comfortable asking for their help with this. He knew it had to be hard, but all they wanted was to have a chance to have each other’s backs and give love to whoever needed it the most.


End file.
